Cincinnati Bearcats basketball gets big man Thiam from UCF via portal
Though Aziz Bandaogo has moved on, Cincinnati Bearcats basketball will have another center from Dakar, Senegal. He's one UC fans should remember from this past year's Big 12 slate.
UCF's 7-foot-2, 235-pound Moustapha Thiam, who faced the Bearcats in the College Basketball Crown in Vegas, will now wear red and black. Thiam entered the portal Wednesday, April 15 and his commitment was confirmed April 21.
Playing for UCF, Moustapha Thiam (52) defends Dillon Mitchell in the Cincinnati Bearcats 93-83 win over the Knights in Orlando Feb. 5.
New Cincinnati Bearcats center was impactful for UCF
Thiam averaged 10.4 points and 6.4 rebounds for Johnny Dawkins and UCF in his freshman year. He shot 50% from the field, 29% from the perimeter and 67% from the free throw line. He had 88 blocks for the season, substantially more than Bandaogo's 50 and six off the UCF record set by 7-foot-6 Tacko Fall. Thiam's high point game was 18 against Utah and his rebounding high was 11 coming in the Crown championship game against Nebraska.
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In two games against UC, he had 14 points and eight rebounds in the 93-83 Bearcats win in Orlando in February and 13 points and five rebounds in UCF's 88-80 win in Las Vegas that ended the Bearcats season.
Before last season Thiam was the No. 1 rated center by 247Sports.com. When he reclassified to come to UCF early, he was still ranked as the No. 7 center. He was UCF's highest-rated basketball recruit when signed.
Moustapha Thiam #52 of the UCF Knights looks on in the first half of the championship game of the College Basketball Crown tournament against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at T-Mobile Arena on April 6 in Las Vegas.
Double dipping Dakar
Thiam was tutored at UCF by former NBA player Mamadou N'Diaye, also from Dakar, Senegal. He had been the Associate Head Coach for Dawkins this past season. N'Diaye, a 49-year-old 7-footer himself, is in line to fill the Cincinnati Bearcats coaching vacancy left by the departure of Drew Adams who moved on to the Darrian DeVries staff at Indiana according to sources and reports.
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N'Diaye's photo and bio were taken off the UCF website Wednesday, April 15. A UCF spokesman confirmed to The Daytona Beach News-Journal the following morning that he was no longer a member of the coaching staff.
Before UCF, N'Diaye had stints at San Francisco, Georgia Tech and Coastal Carolina. N'Diaye recruited Thiam and helped develop another former UCF forward Taylor Hendricks.
Moustapha Thiam (52) dunks on Iowa State center Dishon Jackson (1) in the UCF vs. Cyclones game at Addition Financial Arena in Orlando last Feb. 11.
N'Diaye was drafted into the NBA by the Nuggets in 2000 and also played for the Raptors, Mavericks, Hawks and Clippers.
For what it's worth, Ohio has the fourth-most Senegalese population in the United States behind North Carolina, California and Texas.
What adding Moustapha Thiam means for Cincinnati basketball
Thiam replaces rim-runner Bandaogo with better overall results and shooting touch. Five years younger than Bandaogo at age 19, he played more minutes. While Bandaogo's dunks gave him a better overall shooting percentage (68% to 50%), Thiam was better at the free throw line (67% to 65%) and has the ability to knock down 3-pointers hitting 23-of-79. While that's just a 29.1% rate, it still is better than Jizzle James (28.2) and Connor Hickman (25.7) and just slightly below Dan Skillings Jr. (29.9) and Dillon Mitchell (29.4).
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He outrebounded Bandaogo by seven and had 13 more offensive rebounds (90-77) playing in one less game. Considering he could have played in high school last season, his potential is through the roof.
The Bearcats also badly needed size with the departure of backup 6-foot-11 center Arrinten Page in the portal along with forwards Dillon Mitchell, Tyler Betsey and Josh Reed.
UC also had not had a "big man" coach since the departure of Mike Roberts after the 2022-23 season. N'Diaye could fill that bill with an NBA résumé and becomes the tallest UC assistant since 6-foot-10 Corie Blount served under Mick Cronin and 6-foot-9 DerMarr Johnson was with Cronnin and later Wes Miller.
Thiam now joins fellow newcomers Jaylen Haynes from George Mason, Sencire Harris from West Virginia and Kerr Kriisa from Kentucky.
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Jizzle James has announced he is staying and it's assumed Day Day Thomas, Tyler McKinley and Halvine Dzellat will return.
With Thiam and N'Diaye on unfamiliar benches, a possible Big 12 matchup at Addition Financial Arena next season could be worth the ticket.
UCF Knights center Moustapha Thiam (52) blocks the shot of Colorado Buffaloes forward Trevor Baskin (6) in their game in Boulder last Feb. 16. Thiam had 88 blocks on the season, eight less than 7-foot-6 Tacko Fall had in setting the school record.
What losing Moustapha Thiam means for UCF basketball
In short, it means all of UCF's scoring production for the 2024-25 season is gone. The team averaged 79.8 points per game, good for fifth in the Big 12 despite ranking 12th in field goal shooting (42.6%).
The Knights have been gutted in the transfer portal and, to a far lesser extent, graduation. Fourteen of their 16 rostered players are gone; holdovers Poohpha Warakulnukroh and Elijah Hulsewe logged a combined total 3 minutes and 34 seconds of game action.
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Keyshawn Hall and Jaylin Sellers, UCF's top scorers in its first two Big 12 campaigns, have signed elsewhere — Auburn and Providence, respectively. Hendricks (Utah Valley) and Nils Machowski (Wofford) opted to join mid-majors with hopes of becoming regular starters.
Jordan Ivy-Curry will likely need a waiver in order to gain a sixth year of eligibility. Mikey Williams, JJ Taylor, Dior Johnson, Rokas Jocius and Cameron Simpson have not yet announced new destinations.
UCF fans hoped Thiam would stick for one more season before potentially turning pro and become the centerpiece of a potential March Madness contender. He is one of the nation's top shot-blockers (88 overall, 2.6 per game), and his offensive game progressed nicely throughout the year, particularly his moves in the post and his 3-point shot (23 field goals, 29.1% success rate).
On paper, Dawkins' portal additions of point guard Themus Fulks (Milwaukee), shooting guard Riley Kugel (Mississippi State), wing Jordan Burks (Georgetown) and double-double machine Jamichael Stillwell (Milwaukee) looked like solid complements to Thiam's skill set. In addition, former McDonald's All-American John Bol (Ole Miss) — similarly standing 7-foor-2 — could provide extra rim protection and spell Thiam when in foul trouble.
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Instead, Thiam — and, perhaps more so, N'Diaye — will draw the scorn of UCF fans should Cincinnati have another road trip to Orlando next season, a critical one for Dawkins. He has led the program to the NCAA Tournament just once in nine years, and his contract is not guaranteed beyond 2025-26.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Bearcats adds UCF center Thiam, maybe assistant coach
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